| CEU’s Chris Lang drives through a hole on Air Force Prep’s defense Tuesday. Lang, a 6-foot-9-inch sophomore, leads the Eagles in assists and defensive rebounds this season. |
With Dixie College taking two defeats from Salt Lake Community College last weekend, and College of Eastern Utah’s men bringing home two victories from Colorado Northwestern Community College, CEU moves to a narrow fourth-place ranking within the Scenic West Athletic Conference with a conference record of 6-6.
The Eagles beat CNCC 98-87 on Friday and 96-68 on Saturday followed by an easy win against Air Force Prep at home on Tuesday.
The CEU men face Dixie State College this weekend in what could be their most evenly-matched conference game of the season.
Dixie’s men lost by a slim two-point margin in a Dec. 2 game in Price and have a 5-7 conference record as they prepare to host the Eagles.
CEU’s mental game is bound to play a significant factor this weekend in St George, explained Bryan Zollinger, head coach for the Eagles.
“Players don’t perceive every game as a big game,” said Zollinger. “When we played against CSI, we didn’t win, but our guys played hard. Their focus, effort and level of play was higher. Last weekend it was a little less, because we were playing CNCC. That’s frustrating as a coach, but having also played, I know there are some games where you get more fired up than others.”
The Eagles’ offensive leader Friday was Eldridge Henderson who made 23 points while John Rogers led the team’s defense with 10 rebounds. Chris Lang made five assists; Lang, Jamaal Smith, Colby Vranes, Tyler Billings and Luke Hendrix each had one steal.
CEU is ranked first in steals in the conference, averaging more than 10 per game for a total of 127 against SWAC teams this season with Lang making 28, averaging more than two each game.
The Spartans’ Jeremy Bowie led the night by scoring 25 points and making a block. Jeff Gardley, at 6-foot-7-inches, made nine rebounds, two assists and a block, while Michael Menges had 10 steals.
On Saturday, Lang led in scoring with 13 points. Rogers made seven rebounds and a block. Henderson, Smith and Hendrix each had four assists, while Henderson had three steals.
CNCC’s leaders on Saturday included Trent Dykster, with 22 points and three steals; Gardley, with 11 rebounds and a block; and Menges, with seven steals.